Queen’s Award For Voluntary Service Given To Didcot Railway Centre.(Didcot Railway Centre)

The Great Western Society at Didcot Railway Centre is proud to announce that they have been granted the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service. This is in recognition of the voluntary work that has taken place at Didcot Railway Centre for over 50 years, and could be deemed particularly apt in this, their 50th anniversary year.

The wide ranging skills of the volunteers, past and present, can be seen in how the Centre has developed, from a railway depot, into a globally recognised centre of excellence in railway preservation. The work includes the restoration of steam locomotives, historic carriages and wagons, and buildings sourced from many outposts of the original Great Western Railway. The Centre now has an unmatched collection of locomotives, rolling stock, and small and large artefacts of railwayana from a single railway company.

Centre manager, Roger Orchard said,

“We feel hugely honoured to have been given this award, especially in our 50th anniversary year. We hope this award will stimulate more volunteers to come to the Centre and see the many different volunteering roles we are able to offer people of all ages and abilities.”